The Government is pushing Shannon Airport capacity as a viable alternative for American visitors amid growing airline concern over Dublin’s passenger cap.
In a recent meeting with executives from Delta Air Lines, Department of Transport officials sought to promote Shannon as planning efforts continued to extend the capital’s annual limit past 32 million passengers.
They told Delta that Shannon had available capacity and was of strategic importance to Ireland.
It raised its “runway length, availability of US pre-clearance, proximity to the Wild Atlantic Way and US and other FDI [foreign direct investment] companies located in the midwest region and also its proximity to Dublin, which can be easily reached by motorway in circa 2.5 hours”, according to a note on the meeting obtained under Freedom of Information.
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Delta returned services to Shannon Airport last year but mostly uses Dublin.
The meeting was held last month to discuss the passenger cap at the request of Delta’s head of government affairs in Europe, David Werner, who was in Dublin with Bob Letteney, vice-president for international government affairs.
Department officials noted during the meeting that, given a partial stay imposed by the High Court on the Irish Aviation Authority’s summer slot allocations, there was “no effective cap at Dublin Airport this summer”. Delta, however, said it was concerned for summer 2026.
The meeting was the latest sign of pressure from American carriers frustrated at the cap, which remains the subject of planning consideration. DAA, Dublin Airport’s operator, has sought an increase to 40 million annual passengers, a 25 per cent lift that would do much to alleviate concerns about capacity.
Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien recently met Airlines for America, the lobby group representing multiple North American carriers. He has acknowledged the representative group could formally complain to the US department of transportation, a move that could spark retaliatory restrictions.
Department officials had previously met Andrew Stone, Delta Air Lines’ international regulatory counsel, last summer as part of the Airlines for America delegation to discuss the winter 2024 flight cap and transatlantic connectivity.
At last month’s meeting Delta also raised the proposed flight reduction at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, a contentious move awaiting a ruling from the European Commission.
“The department advised that it was aware of this and that the Dutch position was different in that the government policy in Ireland is not to reduce the number of flights at Dublin Airport and that the passenger cap was a technical planning matter,” the summary document said.
“The department advised that the new government was committed to working with stakeholders to lift the passenger cap as soon as possible, while also acknowledging that it would ensure relevant agencies engage effectively with all communities impacted by noise.”
A recent report commissioned by St Margaret’s The Ward Residents’ Group in Dublin highlighted the health consequences of airport noise but also agitated for a greater spread of air traffic across Ireland, noting about 85 per cent currently routes to the capital.
US operators increased direct services to Dublin from 70 to 98 last year, with 13 routes between Dublin and the US, and three from Shannon.
Delta reinstated its New York JFK-to-Shannon service last May. This summer it will operate six services to Ireland. Atlanta, Boston, New York JFK and Minneapolis will operate daily to Dublin, while a Detroit-to-Dublin service will operate four times a week.
